It is likely true that Scott Jurek was born to run. Jurek, who has claimed victories in nearly all of ultra-running’s elite trail and road events, is easily one of the greatest runners of all time. He’s also an author and his new book, NORTH: Finding My Way While Running the Appalachian Trail, is a memoir, co-written with his wife, Jenny, the New York Times bestselling author of Eat and Run. In the book, Jurek reveals what it took for him to run the almost 2,189-mile Appalachian Trail, the same distance as Maine to Iceland and Los Angeles to Atlanta. The fact that this father of two kids under the age of two years old achieved the FKT (fastest known time), running for 50 miles per day for 46 days, is just the beginning of what the couple shares about this 2015 trail run—the people they met along the way, why running matters—and what they learned about marriage.

Marriage and running — that’s some combo.

As a couple we’re coming up on 10 years together. It’s funny: When I think about it, writing the book together was probably more challenging than running the Appalachian Trail! Actually, I truly believe that when it comes to relationships, having huge challenges is very important. Taking on bigger challenges than you think you can handle might push you to the brink but there’s a reward to that, too.

You did this together—you running and Jenny supporting you.

Yes. Jenny was my pit crew. She drove the van to all sorts of scary places. She was in charge of finding certain places on the map that don’t even have GPS. It was also her job to find food in mountain towns and rural areas. She doesn’t cook—I’m the one who does the cooking at home—so that was a role reversal. She also had to find me at these random road crossings. Her role was way more than just her saying ‘go and have a good run, see you in 20 miles.’ She was my personal Sherpa—she was everything in between.

How are elite runners different from most of us?

I don’t think I’m that different. You have to have the right mindset and ability to solve problems on the fly but those are traits all humans have. People assume I have a crazy gift, but I think that’s forged over time and with life experiences. For example my mom had MS so we grew up with a chronic disease which is a heavy dose of grit to be applied at a young age. Those life experiences and managing that is almost more important than training to run. In general I think a lot of people assume you have to be a perfect specimen physically and that you have to be this amazing athlete to be an elite running. In fact, the best ultra-runners tend to be former military or folks who had difficult upbringings. Being able to weather the daily storm of the Appalachian trial took more than physical capability. I think elite runners push ourselves to the edge because we get stronger each time we’re faced with severe adversity.

What was the best and worst part of the trail?

The trail is so rugged and so difficult. I would say the highs were the beginning and the finishing. I came into it this because it was a new challenge for me and there were a lot of times throughout each day that I was on a major high. The big low came when I injured both of my legs outside of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It was one of my favorite spots on the trail but it was also one that was the most difficult due to my injuries. I didn’t think anything could get worse than two injuries but the sleep deprivation in the White Mountains of New Hampshire was very difficult. The White Mountains are the most rugged. You’re on rock and it’s almost like you’re going down dry waterfalls. There are slabs of rocks that descend on steep grades. All you can do is grab onto the branches of the cedar trees and, when the rocks get wet, it’s a potpourri of rocks, roots and mud and you can’t help but slide down steep rocks.

What was your writing process like?

Jenny and I wish we took better notes but, when we were writing this, it was like the experiences were burned into our memory because things were so visceral. The memories were etched into our brains. I can tell you what things smelled like, felt like, there were parts of my senses that came alive on the trail. That’s one thing that happens when one pushes their body like I did to the brink—your senses are attuned to everything. We were able to lock into that as we wrote.

What do you hope readers take away from the book?

I think the most important things to take away is the element of challenging oneself. North was the pull and getting to the end of the trail, getting the record was a way to get me to push myself further than I ever thought I could. I hope the reader can find whatever challenge or whatever life experience makes them feel the same way. I want people to find their North and find their ability to conjure up that strength or grit when they need it most. I could have said that I’d done enough in my life, but I wanted to find something that ignited my passion. I hope readers of this book can tap into that exact feeling.

AMG/Parade Digital

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